


Provocation

by boywonder



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-14 12:29:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/836887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boywonder/pseuds/boywonder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuri had learned early on that provoking Flynn met with some pretty entertaining results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Provocation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moontyger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontyger/gifts).



Yuri had learned early on that provoking Flynn met with some pretty entertaining results. At least, he was sure as hell entertained. Flynn tended to be a little up tight, but he was more or less even-tempered. Yuri, who _wasn't_ all that even-tempered as a kid, was bothered by the way Flynn acted. They were friends, sure, but that didn't mean they didn't fight.

Yuri found that he could push Flynn's buttons in a way that no one else really could. Flynn _did_ have a temper hiding under all that rules nonsense, and Yuri pushed him into showing it at practically every available opportunity. He would tease, cajole, bother, annoy, whatever it took. Over the first few years of their friendship, he honed his talents in that area, provoking Flynn to increasingly violent encounters, with increasing success rates. He wasn't even usually angry _himself_ when he did it; he just liked watching Flynn lose it.

There was only one problem with that habit. _He couldn't beat Flynn in a fight._

It wasn't such a big deal when they were only fighting with fists. Flynn would usually leave him bruised but still laughing, then storm off in a cloud of anger and refuse to speak to him for several hours. On one particularly memorable occasion, he disappeared for almost two days. Yuri was starting to get worried, not that he'd have admitted it. Flynn always came around, though, and usually they got along better because of it. Yuri figured it was because Flynn never let off steam any other way. So in a way, he was just being a good friend, wasn't he?

Things changed a little when they started fighting with swords.

They'd been training more or less alone, learning from watching. They weren't quite old enough to join the Knights (and Yuri wasn't sure he wanted to), but they were old enough to want to actually fight. They found people to teach them, but Flynn actually studied harder. Yuri had natural talent and picked things up easily enough, but he didn't have half the dedication Flynn did, so his technical skill wasn't that good. He just kind of did whatever he wanted, and let it be good enough. Flynn fought with calculated precision.

The first time Yuri picked a fight with Flynn while they were armed, he got more than he could bargain for. His undisciplined technique couldn't stand up to the way Flynn's precision mixed with his anger. Yuri found himself disarmed faster than he was prepared for. He was used to Flynn's fighting, but with a weapon, everything changed. But that wasn't the only thing that changed. Flynn didn't stop pressing him, even when he dropped his sword on the ground. He was too pissed off for that. They weren't practice swords; they were actual weapons. Poor quality weapons, certainly, but still capable of hurting.

Yuri was too stubborn to actually run. Instead, he found a broken shutter laying on the ground and used it as a shield to deflect Flynn's attacks, yelling the whole time.

“Have you lost your damn _mind_? You win! What do you want, an apology?”

“For starters,” Flynn growled back, banging his sword against the shutter, jarring Yuri's arm in the process.

Yuri pulled the shutter away enough so that it wouldn't get totally broken, but there wasn't any way he was going to be able to keep it up forever. He knew that. And he was _sure_ Flynn knew it, too.

“You tryin' to scare me, blondie? You'll have to try harder than that,” he said, dodging one of Flynn's blows and sliding around him on the other side. He barely got away from the next one.

“Scare _you_? You don't have the sense to be scared,” Flynn answered. Yuri broke free and _did_ run, but only back toward his fallen weapon. He couldn't fight better than Flynn, but he could sure as hell run faster. He made it back to the sword about two steps before Flynn could stop him, picked it up mid-run, and turned to catch Flynn just as he caught up. Their swords clashed, and they locked like that for a minute.

“Boy you're cute when you're mad,” Yuri said, grinning at Flynn. Flynn only responded by gritting his teeth and _shoving_ as hard as he could, throwing Yuri back and off balance with sheer force. Yuri's feet tangled as he tried to maintain balance, and when Flynn swung his sword, he couldn't quite block it. He cried out, and Flynn saw blood spatter the dirt at their feet.

They both froze, staring at each other.

It wasn't a serious wound, just a scratch across Yuri's face from where the very edge of Flynn's sword had caught him. Yuri raised his hand to his cheek, feeling the cut there, and looked down at his bloody fingers. “You actually _cut_ me?”

Flynn took a step forward, his anger replaced with concern.

“Yuri, I-”

A grin spread lazily across Yuri's face. "What, you worried about me all of a sudden?"  
   
Flynn stopped walking toward him and straightened up. He schooled his features into an unconcerned look and shoved his sword back into its sheath, barely restraining his annoyance at Yuri's reaction. Yuri saw his face, though; he was anything but unconcerned. Yuri himself was slightly shaken, but he hid it much better. He sheathed his own sword as well, figuring even if Flynn was annoyed, the fire had died down for the time being.  
   
"I don't think I've ever seen you _that pissed_ ," Yuri said, his tone conversational, bordering on dismissive. "What was it, the comment about you being cute when you're mad?"  
   
Flynn's face was a stone mask, though his eyes burn. "Don't you ever know when to let something go, Yuri?" he asked. But he didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he spun on his heel and stormed off, leaving Yuri both amused and puzzled as he went.  
   
Later, Yuri found Flynn at the bar. Neither of them was really old enough to drink, but down here, no one cared much about that. Lots of young people hung around in the bar, and Yuri and Flynn were no exception. They hung around in here and talked about how they were going to grow up and get out. Well, _Flynn_ talked about that. Yuri mostly listened and egged him on. It wasn't that he didn't agree, he just...didn't talk about it like that. He wanted things to change, too, though. That was a huge part of why they stayed friends.  
   
Flynn was sitting at a table in the corner, alone. Yuri could tell from the way he stared into his cup that he wasn't really even drinking, just...thinking. The fight must have really shaken him. Even _Yuri_ was starting to feel a little bad! Not that he planned on telling Flynn that, of course.  
   
He slid into the seat across from the blond without waiting for an invitation. Flynn didn't even look up. Even if he was concerned for what had happened, he let it go for the time being. Things between them were normal. They drank in silence for awhile. Eventually they spoke, though not about anything particular. Finally, Flynn stood up. He dropped a coin on the table.  
   
"I'm going to bed," he announced, seemingly out of nowhere. Yuri looked up at him, actually surprised. Their eyes locked for a minute before Flynn jerked his gaze up and away. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked off. Yuri rolled his eyes, dropped a coin of his own on the table, and followed after.  
   
They'd been sharing two tiny rooms above the inn for awhile. Eventually they'd get kicked out, but the lady who owned the inn had a soft spot for both of them, so she kept letting them stay, even though they were usually barely paying. They made promises to pay later, but they usually were empty promises (a fact that galled Flynn).  
   
Yuri stayed a few feet behind Flynn, hands tucked into his pockets. He followed Flynn up the stairs toward the rooms. At the last second, Flynn spun around, fist flying. Yuri was lucky he didn't catch the blow with his face; Flynn's movements were so abrupt that he hadn't seen it coming at all.

"Whoa, what the hell got into you?" Yuri demanded, catching himself with one arm to avoid falling down the stairs.

Flynn, still incensed about the incident earlier - and maybe incensed that Yuri had dodged his punch - grabbed Yuri and jerked him the rest of the way up the stairs, then swung him around and shoved him up against the wall, just outside the door to their rooms.  
   
"Yuri, you don't take _anything_ seriously!" Flynn said, slamming his fist on the wall next to Yuri's head. "And I play right into it. I thought you wanted to _make a difference_ , but all you do is run your mouth and provoke me."  
   
"Maybe you just take everything too seriously. If you don't let me get to you, then you wouldn't waste all your energy fighting with me."  
   
"You're missing the point!"  
   
"Why are you bringing this up _now_?" Yuri asked, ignoring Flynn's annoyance as usual. "Are you still freaked out because you cut me? It wasn't a big deal. It's not like it was that deep."  
   
"But what if it had been, Yuri? I don't actually want to hurt you, you know. You get me all riled up and I can't think straight. You're the only person I've ever met who can do that. I bet you're the only person in the whole _world_ that could push me so far."  
   
Yuri actually smiled a little at that. _Good,_ he thought. But all he said was, "You know, you actually are kinda cute when you're angry. Maybe that's why I do it."  
   
Flynn sighed and pushed away from the wall. Yuri reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled him back, though. Before Flynn could offer much by way of protest, Yuri had pulled him so close that their lips met. It wasn't a good kiss; it was fumbly, and off-center, and their teeth knocked from the force of it. But it was still a kiss.  
   
As soon as Flynn realized that was what it was, though, he wouldn't stand for relinquishing it to Yuri. He grabbed Yuri's hands and slammed them up against the wall again.  
   
 _Then_ it was a real kiss, channeling their frustration with each other into something else, battling for control. Just like when they fought with their swords instead of their tongues, there was a fierceness to Flynn that Yuri brought out. Yuri liked it that way, though he fought back as hard as he ever did. It wasn't like he planned to just let Flynn do whatever he wanted, but in the end, Flynn won, and broke the kiss first.  
   
"Damnit, Yuri, if this is what you wanted, you could have just said so," he said, barely above a whisper.  
   
The smirk lingered on Yuri's face. "Nah, I like you mad."  
   
"I'm gonna show you mad," Flynn growled, but his eyes sparkled.

"I'm counting on that," Yuri replied, fumbling for the doorknob with one hand and pulling Flynn back into a kiss with the other.


End file.
